urn:taro:utexas.cah.01856A Guide to the George F. Townsend Papers, 1853-1952Original EAD encoding by Sarah Powell according to TARO 2 EAD 2002 Editing
Instructions. 1954, 89-46Finding aid written in English.June 2011Revised by Laurel Rozema
Descriptive Summary
Townsend, George F.Townsend, Elizabeth Sthreshley, d. 1919Townsend, George F., papers1853-1952Materials are written in English.1954, 89-467 in. Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at AustinThe George F. Townsend Papers, 1853-1952, relate
to his photography studio and his wife Elizabeth Sthreshley Townsend's invention
of a Braille typewriter.
Biographical Note

Born in Austin, Texas, George F. Townsend was the son of Martin Townsend and his
wife, Cecilia Brichta, nephew of William A. Blackburn, and the grandson of Nathaniel
Townsend, a merchant and diplomat for the Republic of Texas. Townsend owned a
photography studio on Congress Avenue and married Elizabeth Sthreshley (d. 1919) in
1894. Four years earlier, Elizabeth had invented the punctograph, a Braille
typewriter, for which she held the patent. After working at the Texas School for the
Blind for eight years, Elizabeth left her position to assist her husband with his
photography career, which included experiments with X-ray equipment.